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Russia
The Russian Socialist Republic, informally known as Russia, is a nation in Europe and Asia. Russia is a socialist republic governed by the sole legal party in the country, the Communist Party of Russia. Russia is considered one of the two global superpowers (the other being the United States), and is the de facto leader of the Warsaw Pact, COMECON, and the Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics. History Kosygin Era (1970-1980) In January 22nd,1969, former General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev was fatally shot while in Moscow by Red Army deserter Viktor Ilyin. Brezhnev was rapidly transported to the city hospital, however he died of his wounds hours later. News of the event quickly spread, shocking both the citizenry of the Soviet Union and the world, with even U.S president Lyndon B. Johnson expressing his condolences. Shortly thereafter the politburo convened a conference to decide the new leader of the Soviet Union. Many politburo members nominated themselves as candidates, however the final battle for leadership was between reformer Alexei Kosygin and Nikolai Podgorny. Podgorny was widely expected to succeed Brezhnev as General Secretary, however Alexei Kosygin ultimately defeated him after two politburo members abstained from the final vote. The final result was announced and was received with mixed results from the public. Many reformers were welcoming of this change, hoping for reform, while conservatives looked on in suspicion, and hardline marxist-leninists with outright political hostility. However Alexei Kosygin irregardless was inaugurated as General Secretary in 1970, replacing the interim leader. In 1970 Alexei Kosygin presented the 9th five-year plan, which primarily focused on technological innovation, agricultural reforms, and infrastructure modernization. This proposal was approved, and was put into effect in 1971. Initially the plan saw mixed results, the Soviet Union was rapidly entering the computer era, however resistance within the military-industrial complex and party slowed results for land reforms and infrastructure development. Alexei responded with a sweeping anti-corruption campaign, with many corrupt party members, military officers, and a handful of political opponents being either stripped of their positions or being arrested for more serious charges. Following this, Alexei was free to push for land reforms and infrastructural expansion and modernization, the Kholkoz was gradually abolished in favor of Sovkhoz, and farmers were now able to access higher quality fertilizers and modern farming tools and machinery due to investments in higher quality designs. Agricultural productivity significantly improved (excluding a poor harvest in 1972, which was due to a draught), however the state-owned farms still struggled to incentivize farmers into working at maximum effeciency. Meanwhile, residential districts within most Soviet cities were expanded, with multiple new houses being constructed, which improved the shortage of houses beforehand. Existing roads were repaired, while new roads were constructed as a replacement to common dirt roads, which served to further connect urban and rural Soviets. Sewage systems and water pipe systems were also significantly improved, giving relatively easy access to water. Meanwhile, Alexei Kosygin successfully negotiated further nuclear arms restraints with the west in 1976, a brief period of Detente occured until the 80s. However, Kosygin's attempts at improving Sino-Soviet relations failed. Kosygin returned to Moscow in 1978, exclaiming that the People's Republic of China was a "corrupt dictatorship" that had "lost the path to socialism". Alexei Kosygin died in 1980 of natural causes. Kosygin, then and presently has been considered a competent administrator that improved the quality of life in the USSR significantly while also combating political corruption, making him popular among many Soviet citizens. he was succeeded by the relatively young Mikhail Gorbachev in 1981. Tenure of Gorbachev (1981-2000) Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power as one of the youngest general secretaries in Soviet history. Initially, he sought to implement economic reform (Perestroika) and social reform (Glasnost), however fears of social upheaval forced a compromise with Gorbachev and the Politburo, in which the politburo would tolerate Gorbachev's economic reforms, but at the expense of Glasnost. Early on in his rule, many of the old guard had begun to retire from politics, which gave way to a new, more pragmatic generation of Soviet leaders such as Nikolai Ryzhkov and Boris Yeltsin, which decreased political friction between the General Secretary and the Politburo. In 1984, consistently inefficient production and sales of most consumer goods further cemented the legitimacy of his proposed economic reforms, and a year later price controls underwent a very gradual abolishment in favor of prices based on supply and demand, a very noticeable transition from state socialism to market-oriented socialism. Secondly, Gorbachev allowed agricultural and industrial manufacturers to sell off surplus goods on their own terms, so long as they were deemed "fair", by the government, however a minor "surplus goods tax" was imposed in order to increase tax revenue. These two reforms significantly reduced the chances of shortages due to ineffective government management, and increased worker productivity across the board thanks to greater economic incentive to work more efficiently. In the political domain, an increasingly aggressive United States under the Reagan presidency gave reason to increase investments in the Soviet military and heighten Warsaw Pact military cooperation. In 1987 Gorbachev and Soviet military command initiated Project 40: "Red Dome", an endeavor to covertly establish surface-to-air anti-ballistic missile silos throughout the Soviet Bloc, often located in the periphery of military establishments and urban centers. The project lasted until the late 1990s with positive results. In 1991, following the break-up of Yugoslavia, Gorbachev drafted and proposed the "New Union Treaty", a radical proposal to decentralize the USSR into independent Republics, while re-establishing the USSR as the "Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics", a military, political, and economic union that still maintained comprehensive ties between members relative to most other alliances.